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12 - Mutiny in the Void · Outer Space Adventures in Sci-Fi

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Speaker 1: Mutiny in the Void by Charles R. Tanner. This is
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Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: This recording by M. D. Peterson Mutiny in the Void
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Speaker 1: by Charles R. Tanner. The tank room of the rocketship Baronies,
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Speaker 1: where the big tanks of waterweed were kept, was so
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Speaker 1: spick and span that a man needed little psychology to
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Speaker 1: realize that its manager was a dapper, finicky, careful little man.
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Speaker 1: The room's lights were bright and efficient, the water in
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Speaker 1: the tanks fresh and clean, and there were no decaying
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Speaker 1: fronds of vegetation. Among the thousands of stems of waterweed
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Speaker 1: which floating about in the tank absorbed the carbon dioxide
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Speaker 1: which was pumped through the water, and gave back a
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Speaker 1: constant stream of tiny bubbles of oxygen. For this farm,
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Speaker 1: as the tank room was called, was the oxygen producer
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Speaker 1: for the rocket, and under the expert care of Manuel Serrouk,
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Speaker 1: the farmer, it kept the air as fresh and wholesome
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Speaker 1: as the air of earth. Manuel was proud of his
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Speaker 1: work and of the way he handled it, just as
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Speaker 1: he was proud of his appearance and the way he
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Speaker 1: kept that. But at the moment thoughts of pride and
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Speaker 1: satisfaction were furthest from Manuel Serouke's mind. He had just
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Speaker 1: opened the door of the tank room and entered, and
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Speaker 1: on his face were written terror and anxiety, and written
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Speaker 1: in unmistakable characters. For Manuel had just been an unconscious
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Speaker 1: eavesdropper on a conversation, a conversation between Gilligan, the tall,
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Speaker 1: cadaverous mate of the ship, and one of the fuel wrestlers.
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Speaker 1: Manuel didn't know the name of the wrestler, for most
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Speaker 1: of the crew were new men picked by Gilligan on
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Speaker 1: this his second trip on the Barnice. But his name
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Speaker 1: was of no moment. It was the gist of the
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Speaker 1: conversation that mattered. It was that which made the dapper
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Speaker 1: little farmer tremble with anxiety and yes, terror, for they
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Speaker 1: had spoken of mutiny, and a mutiny imminent and likely
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Speaker 1: to break out at any minute. Manuel was neat, and
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Speaker 1: Manuel was proud, but no one would call him brave.
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Speaker 1: He was frightened. Now, frightened, almost out of his wits,
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Speaker 1: and uncertain as to what he should do. He mechanically
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Speaker 1: reached into the breast of his jacket and drew out
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Speaker 1: a tobacco let. He stuck it in his mouth and
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Speaker 1: inhaled it, wishing it was a cigarette he was smoking.
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Speaker 1: Ninety nine farmers out of one hundred wasted oxygen by
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Speaker 1: smoking tobacco, but not manul The rule said no cigarettes,
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Speaker 1: so it was no cigarettes for him. He tossed the
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Speaker 1: tobaccolette away before it was half empty, and began to
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Speaker 1: pace the floor nervously. He went to the washstand and
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Speaker 1: brushed the stain of the tobacco let from his teeth.
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Speaker 1: He made a test of the air and smiled a
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Speaker 1: little as he noted that the oxygen content was well
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Speaker 1: above par. He examined weeds and removed a sickly looking
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Speaker 1: frond or two, but his mind was not on his work,
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Speaker 1: and he soon resumed his uneasy pacing. And then there
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Speaker 1: was a knock at the door. His heart flew into
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Speaker 1: his mouth. He glanced around to see if there was
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Speaker 1: any place to flee, and then called out weakly, who's there.
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Speaker 1: It's me Gilligan, came the sharp voice of the mate,
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Speaker 1: and Manuel's panic became if possible greater? What do you want?
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Speaker 1: He stammered, Gilligan's voice greeve and sharper. What's the matter
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Speaker 1: with you, Manuel, he snapped, let me in. I want
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Speaker 1: to have a talk with you. Manuel was trembling violently,
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Speaker 1: but he moved forward and unlatched the door. The tall,
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Speaker 1: abnormally thin mate strode in a sort of ingratiating smile
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Speaker 1: hovering over his face. Nice little place you got here, Manuel,
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Speaker 1: he said, with a forced smile. Too bad, I never
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Speaker 1: had a chance to visit you here. Before he strode
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Speaker 1: over to Manuel's stool, the only seat in the farm,
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Speaker 1: and took possession of it. He looked about him, glance
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Speaker 1: at Manuel once or twice, and gradually his smile became
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Speaker 1: more natural. Manuel, he said, you're an officer of sorts,
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Speaker 1: maybe only a warrant officer, but still you eat with them.
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Speaker 1: So I've been considering you as an officer. But well,
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Speaker 1: i'd like you, Manuel, and you've heard more than you should,
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Speaker 1: I believe, so I've come to have a little talk
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Speaker 1: with you. He lowered his voice and looked around warily
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Speaker 1: before he continued. Then, Manuel, he said, I'm going to
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Speaker 1: make things plain. You heard me talking to Larry a
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Speaker 1: while ago, and you must be suspicious well, your suspicion
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Speaker 1: is right. There's going to be a mutiny aboard this
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Speaker 1: hunk of fireworks, and Captain Tarrant is going to lose
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Speaker 1: his job. Know why because I'm one of Huddersfield's men,
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Speaker 1: and I've been working to seize this ship for eight months,
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Speaker 1: Manuel shuddered. Huddersfield the Syrian, he asked, the very same,
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Speaker 1: Huddersfield has seized an asteroid and intends to start a
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Speaker 1: fleet of rocket He's got a couple already, and this
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Speaker 1: will be his third. When we get enough, things will pop,
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Speaker 1: I'll tell you now. Listen, Manuel, you can throw in
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Speaker 1: with us and goin for Huddersfield, or you can run
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Speaker 1: and tell Cap Terran and get your bloody knob knocked
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Speaker 1: off when we take the ship. Cause the men are
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Speaker 1: all with me, Manuel, all of them, and there ain't
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Speaker 1: a chance of Terrant winning if it comes to battle.
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Speaker 1: He stopped, evidently waiting for Manuel to speak. The little
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Speaker 1: farmer looked up miserably. But what can I do, he
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Speaker 1: cried plaintively. Me I ain't no fighter, Gilligan, you don't
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Speaker 1: want me a far a fighter in your crew. Gilligan
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Speaker 1: looked up, smiling, broadly. Manuel's obvious terror of him seemed
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Speaker 1: to have reassured him considerably. He winked confidently. Manuel, He said,
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Speaker 1: your business is to keep the air clean, and that's
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Speaker 1: all you have to do, except to keep your mouth shut, too,
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Speaker 1: cause if you peep to the Captain or to Navigator Rogers,
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Speaker 1: you'll be the first to die when we cut loose.
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Speaker 1: But he winked again, and his smile broadened. You keep
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Speaker 1: the wind fair and the trap closed, and you won't
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Speaker 1: be forgotten. He gave one final wink and stepped out,
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Speaker 1: closing the door behind him, and he left Manuel in
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Speaker 1: a turmoil of uncertainty. The little farmer knew well where
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Speaker 1: his duty lay. If he did the right thing, he'd
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Speaker 1: go at once to Captain Tarrant and inform him of
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Speaker 1: the impending rebellion. But if he did, Gilligan would surely
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Speaker 1: get him. He knew well that the threat the thin
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Speaker 1: maid had made had been no idle one. But if
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Speaker 1: he didn't inform the Captain. If he didn't, he'd be
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Speaker 1: a mute neer two, and he'd have to take his
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Speaker 1: share and leave the earth the fugitive, and probably cast
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Speaker 1: his lot with the infamous Huddersfield. He certainly didn't want
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Speaker 1: to do that either. He strode back and forth in
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Speaker 1: the tank room, a victim of uncertainty. He didn't know
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Speaker 1: what to do, he told himself plaintively. He still didn't know.
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Speaker 1: When dinner time came, Manuel's abstraction at the dinner table
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Speaker 1: was so noticeable that young Captain Arrant was forced to
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Speaker 1: speak of it. Where's your appetite, Seruke? He asked, you
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Speaker 1: haven't even finished your soup. Aren't you feeling well? Manuel's
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Speaker 1: face reddened as he answered, but old Doc Slade looked
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Speaker 1: up and eyed Manuel keenly. You better come in and
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Speaker 1: see me after dinner, Siruke. He suggested, maybe you got
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Speaker 1: something wrong, and I'll have some work to do. You
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Speaker 1: stop in and see me. Manuel was about to insist
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Speaker 1: that he had nothing wrong with him when he caught
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Speaker 1: Doc's eye and realized the old man knew something. And
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Speaker 1: then he realized that here was opportunity knocking. He could
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Speaker 1: go in and see Doc Slade and Gilligan would never
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Speaker 1: suspect anything. He rose from the table, murmuring I'll be
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Speaker 1: in to see you in a few minutes, Doc. Then
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Speaker 1: he hurried back to the farm He entered the tank
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Speaker 1: room and checked everything again. He put on a clean
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Speaker 1: shirt and brushed his teeth and combed his straight black hair. Then,
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Speaker 1: after a moment's consideration, he brushed his teeth again. Doc
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Speaker 1: might take a notion to examine him, and He's certainly
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Speaker 1: didn't want his teeth to be soiled if Doc looked
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Speaker 1: at his mouth and throat. He was about to leave
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Speaker 1: the tank room when he heard a cry from somewhere
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Speaker 1: down the passage. It was a startled cry, and it
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Speaker 1: was followed by a sharp command that ended in an oath.
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Speaker 1: His heart leaped into his mouth. Not an officer on
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Speaker 1: the ship ever used profanity to the men. Besides, he'd
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Speaker 1: have recognized the voice of any of the four officers.
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Speaker 1: That command had been shouted by one of the men,
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Speaker 1: and the cry that had preceded it had been one
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Speaker 1: of surprise, had the mutiny started already. As if in
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Speaker 1: answer to his question, the sharp report of an automatic
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Speaker 1: rang out suddenly through the passageway. Manuel swung the door
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Speaker 1: shut and ducked back, as suddenly as if the bullet
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Speaker 1: had been fired at him. He was beginning to tremble.
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Speaker 1: He felt a smothering constriction of his throat, and yet
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Speaker 1: at the same time, an unreasoning thrill of excitement was
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Speaker 1: rising within him. He felt an overpowering desire to see
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Speaker 1: what was going on outside. For many minutes, his caution
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Speaker 1: overcame his curiosity, but at last the continual silence convinced
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Speaker 1: him that in all probability the mutiny was over. So
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Speaker 1: ever so slowly, he crept out into the corridor and
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Speaker 1: started down the hall where he had heard the shot.
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Speaker 1: Proved to be quite empty, and he wondered where everybody was.
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Speaker 1: This was certainly a queer mutiny, nothing like he had
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Speaker 1: ever read about. He trod more and more cautiously, and
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Speaker 1: had dawned on him that this silence was more fearsome
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Speaker 1: than tumult would have been. He was passing a store
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Speaker 1: room just then, and when he was just abreast of
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Speaker 1: the door, it was flung suddenly open, and there was
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Speaker 1: one of the fuel wrestlers with a loaded automatic leveled
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Speaker 1: at Manuel's chest and a spiteful look in his eyes.
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Speaker 1: Manuel's reaction was almost automatic. He threw up his hands
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Speaker 1: and shouted, don't shoot, and from behind the fuel wrestler,
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Speaker 1: another voice, Gilligins said, let him alone. It's the farmer.
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Speaker 1: Then it grew sharp as the mate snapped, get in here, Manul,
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Speaker 1: What are you doing wandering around the hall? You want
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Speaker 1: to get shot. Manuel was almost too scared to speak.
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Speaker 1: I was looking for you, he answered. I think the
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Speaker 1: fight is all over, so I look for you. It
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Speaker 1: ain't all over by a damn sight. Gilligan snarled, you
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Speaker 1: seen Doc Slade. I ain't seen nobody, Siruk answered truthfully.
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Speaker 1: I just came out of the farm and walked down here.
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Speaker 1: I heard a shot a while ago. That was when
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Speaker 1: we took a poppets Slade. I think he must have
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Speaker 1: had some suspicions the way he acted. Now, look, Manuel,
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Speaker 1: the mate went on, The stuff ain't exactly in your line.
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Speaker 1: You better go back to the farm and lay low
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Speaker 1: till I call you. Manuel was still a little trembling
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Speaker 1: from the scare he got when he saw the pistol
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Speaker 1: pointed at his breast. He nodded enthusiastically at Gilligan's suggestion,
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Speaker 1: darted to the door, and running down the corridor, he
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Speaker 1: crept in the tank room without another word. He was
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Speaker 1: in the tank room alone for hours. It seemed it
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Speaker 1: was almost time for supper when there was a knock
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Speaker 1: of the door, and when he hesitatingly opened it, Gilligan
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Speaker 1: came in with a big smile on his face. Well
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Speaker 1: it's all over, but the shout in manul, he boasted.
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Speaker 1: We got Terran and Navigator Rogers cooped up in the
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Speaker 1: dining room. They've got food and water and they've locked
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Speaker 1: themselves in, But we got a guard posted at the door,
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Speaker 1: and we'll get him if they make a break. We
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Speaker 1: got Doc Slade too, alive. He fought like a tiger,
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Speaker 1: hurt two of the boys before we nailed him. But
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Speaker 1: we took him alive and were holding him up in
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Speaker 1: the way in room. Cookie stirred up some supper, so
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Speaker 1: come on up and eat. You needn't be afraid, he
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Speaker 1: added as an afterthought. The fighting's all over. Manuel followed
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Speaker 1: him out the door and down the passageway. They went
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Speaker 1: up the stairs to the loading room near the central
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Speaker 1: axis of the rocket. Manuel, feeling again the dizziness that
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Speaker 1: he always felt when he lost weight. He had never
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Speaker 1: really become a space man, in spite of all his
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Speaker 1: years in space. He walked a little uncertainly and giddily
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Speaker 1: into the room, a pace or two behind Gilligan, the
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Speaker 1: entire crew was there. Doc Slade was there too. He
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Speaker 1: had a black eye and a long, deep scratch down
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Speaker 1: one side of his face. His hands were tied and
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Speaker 1: he was seated on a stool with his legs tied
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Speaker 1: to the stools. Doc's eyes widened when he saw Manuel
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Speaker 1: walk in with gilligin Then a look of scorn came
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Speaker 1: into them, and he turned his head away. Manuel squirmed
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Speaker 1: uncomfortably under his gaze. He liked Doc Slade, and Doc
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Speaker 1: had always liked him up to now. He hoped these
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Speaker 1: fellows wouldn't hurt the old Doc. The table was set
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Speaker 1: and the crew were about to sit down to eat.
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Speaker 1: Manuel was seated beside Gilligan, and they untied Doc's hands
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Speaker 1: and sat him down too, at the opposite end of
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Speaker 1: the table. The meal was sheer torture for the little farmer.
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Speaker 1: The crew ignored him, Gilligan ignored him, and Doctor Slade.
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Speaker 1: Doctor Slade wouldn't ignore him, and Manuel wished he would.
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Speaker 1: Before the meal was over, Manuel was in an agony
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Speaker 1: of anxiety. He wondered what would become of Arrant and Roger's.
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Speaker 1: He wondered what they do to Doc Slade. He wondered
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Speaker 1: also what they were going to do to him. The
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Speaker 1: crew was uproariously jovial. They had broken out a case
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Speaker 1: of gin that one of them had probably smuggled aboard,
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Speaker 1: and they lit cigarettes and split a bottle and were
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Speaker 1: having a glorious time. It grew more glorious after the
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Speaker 1: third bottle, and one of them brought up the suggestion
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Speaker 1: that they divided the cargo among them right then, to
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Speaker 1: see what they were going to get. Gilligan frowned and
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Speaker 1: tried to wave the suggestion down, but half a dozen
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Speaker 1: voices snarled angrily at his refusal, and the slim mate
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Speaker 1: was forced to acquiesce with as good as grace as possible.
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Speaker 1: A loader was delegated to guard dock slade, then the
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Speaker 1: entire remainder of the crew started aft to the hold.
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Speaker 1: In those days, ships usually carried things that were mightily
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Speaker 1: hard to get or make on Mars, and were not
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Speaker 1: too scarce on Earth. In this case, there was a
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Speaker 1: ton of U two three five, a lot of organic
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Speaker 1: chemicals that still can be synthesized from their elements, and
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Speaker 1: an assortment of odds and ends that were prized by
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Speaker 1: the Martian natives in spite of their cheapness into the
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Speaker 1: bins where the stuff was stored. The shouting pirates, who
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Speaker 1: had lately been a well behaved crew, swarmed, shouting and
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Speaker 1: pushing and laying claim to this and that and the other,
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Speaker 1: and in less than five minutes three separate fights started.
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Speaker 1: Gilligan stormed, threatened, and at last resorted to violence. This
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Speaker 1: stuff'll never be divided fair if you lugs try to
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Speaker 1: settle it by fighting for it, he roared, after he
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Speaker 1: had clipped a couple of them. What do you think
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Speaker 1: you are, a bunch of pirates? You fools kill each
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Speaker 1: other off? And who brings the ship into poort? Eh?
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Speaker 1: How long do you think we'd go on livin' if
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Speaker 1: we shorthanded and damage this can on landin'? Huddersfield would
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Speaker 1: kill you off like flies for that. Now, calm down
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Speaker 1: and let's get this thing settled. They stood meekly enough
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Speaker 1: after that, while Gilligan looked the cargo over and assigned
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Speaker 1: this portion of this, fellow that portion of that. He
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Speaker 1: had apportioned a large part of the spoils to them.
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Speaker 1: When he came to a dozen or so large corrugated boxes,
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Speaker 1: he read one of the labels and broke out into laughter.
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Speaker 1: Look at this, you lugs, he chuckled. He was going
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Speaker 1: to get this for his share. The others looked, and
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Speaker 1: grins began to spread over their faces. The label said
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Speaker 1: dental gleamed tooth powder, one half gram, four ounces. The
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Speaker 1: grins became laughs, and a dozen eyes turned to Manuel.
15:15
Speaker 1: The little farmer felt his face beginning to redden it
15:19
Speaker 1: dawned on him that his habit of dental fastidiousness was
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Speaker 1: not unknown to the crew. Gilligan's next remark made it
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Speaker 1: obvious that this was the truth. Manuel. He said, the
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Speaker 1: stuff was probably going to the Mars to polish the
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Speaker 1: teeth of them sharp jowed natives. But it would have
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Speaker 1: been wasted there, manual, wasted. But now Manuel, it shall
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Speaker 1: be awarded to you, who will value it in appreciation
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Speaker 1: for all you've done for us during the mutiny. His
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Speaker 1: eyes hardened for a moment, as if in anticipation of
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Speaker 1: a complaint. Then, seeing nothing in Manuel's eyes but plaintive acquiescence,
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Speaker 1: he went on, take it, manual, and get out of here.
15:58
Speaker 1: Take it down to the farm and gloat over it. Farmer.
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Speaker 1: There's enough there to last even you for twenty years.
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Speaker 1: The crew looked at him, looked at the day's Manuel,
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Speaker 1: and burst into spasms of laughter. They poked jibes at him,
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Speaker 1: made obsedon puns at his expense, and Manuel stood there,
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Speaker 1: taking it all in and getting redder and redder. He
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Speaker 1: wished futally that he had had time to do something
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Speaker 1: before the mutiny. He wished that it wasn't too late
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Speaker 1: to do something now. Then he realized that there was
16:27
Speaker 1: something for him to do. Gilligan was ordering him again
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Speaker 1: in no uncertain terms, to get that toothpowder down to
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Speaker 1: his tank room. He smiled weakly at the ringleader and
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Speaker 1: picked up one box. For the next half hour he
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Speaker 1: was busy carrying his fortune down to his quarters, and
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Speaker 1: it was doubtful if in all his life, Manuel Seruke
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Speaker 1: had ever been so miserable. He upbraided himself at every
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Speaker 1: step for his cowardice and vacillation. He racked his brain,
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Speaker 1: striving to devise some brilliant plan to circumvent the mutineers,
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Speaker 1: and even as he did so, another part of his
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Speaker 1: mind was scoffing at the futility of daring to oppose
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Speaker 1: that group of Ruffians. By the time he came back
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Speaker 1: for the last box, he had admitted the absurdity of
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Speaker 1: even trying it. They had emptied the gin bottles by
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Speaker 1: that time. Some of them were singing and some were
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Speaker 1: shooting crabs, gambling with their share of the cargo. Gillian
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Speaker 1: and a couple of others were gathered around Doc Slade.
17:29
Speaker 1: They had removed his bonds and had evidently been talking
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Speaker 1: to him. You'll take a chance with us, or you'll
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Speaker 1: take a chance with them too. In the officer's mess
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Speaker 1: Gilligan was saying menacingly. As Manuel entered, it was evident
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Speaker 1: that he had shared in the gin since Manol had
17:43
Speaker 1: started his work. He was looking ugly and seemed to
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Speaker 1: be feeling the same way. Doc Slade's lip was curling
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Speaker 1: with contempt before Gilligan had finished the sentence. There's no choice,
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Speaker 1: said doctor spat. You give me passage to the mess
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Speaker 1: room and I'll go right now. What have I got
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Speaker 1: in with a pack of space rats like these? I
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Speaker 1: don't like the smell of you even okay, Gilligan snarled,
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Speaker 1: with an air of finality that showed that he was
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Speaker 1: ending what had been an attempt to persuade Slade to
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Speaker 1: join them. I'll give you passage, get out of here
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Speaker 1: and get down to the dining room. He flung the
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Speaker 1: door open and gestured out into the passageway. Doc Slade
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Speaker 1: looked at him with a look in his eyes that
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Speaker 1: Manuel couldn't fathom. Get repeated Gilligan, and drew his weapon.
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Speaker 1: Get out of here before I forget myself, and let
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Speaker 1: you have a dose of this. Doc hesitated the brief
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Speaker 1: a second, then he shrugged and stepped out of the door.
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Speaker 1: He started down the passageway swiftly, and Minol noticed that
18:38
Speaker 1: he neither slackened his pace nor looked backward. He was
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Speaker 1: some sixty feet away when Gilligan muttered to the two
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Speaker 1: or three who had crowded to the door, all right,
18:47
Speaker 1: let him have it in too. Manuel's horror. A half
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Speaker 1: dozen shots cracked and echoed in the narrow confines of
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Speaker 1: the hall. Doc staggered, put a hand out to the bulkhead,
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Speaker 1: coughed and slumped to the floor. Gilligan ran forward and
19:00
Speaker 1: put another bullet in him. Minuel didn't even wait until
19:04
Speaker 1: Gilligan came back into the room. He grabbed up his
19:07
Speaker 1: last box mechanically and ran to the steps. His mind
19:10
Speaker 1: was a chaos of horror. He was choking. His eyes
19:13
Speaker 1: were filling with tears, and he was aware of only
19:16
Speaker 1: one thought to get to the steps before a bullet
19:18
Speaker 1: smacked into his back too. He stumbled down the steps
19:22
Speaker 1: and along the corridor, sobbing as he went. They had
19:26
Speaker 1: killed Doc Slade, killed him in cold blood. They'd kill
19:29
Speaker 1: the other officers too if they got the chance. There
19:33
Speaker 1: was no good in them, there was no hope in
19:34
Speaker 1: trying to placate them or appeal to their good nature.
19:38
Speaker 1: At any minute, they'd be likely to take a notion
19:40
Speaker 1: to kill him too, just for the fun of the thing.
19:43
Speaker 1: He hardly knew what he was doing by the time
19:45
Speaker 1: he entered the tank room and dropped the box of
19:47
Speaker 1: toothpowder onto the others, and then slammed the door shut
19:50
Speaker 1: and locked it. For a while. He was a little hysterical.
19:54
Speaker 1: He sobbed, he walked the floor. He beat his temples
19:57
Speaker 1: with his fists and wondered if he could kill himself.
20:01
Speaker 1: He could see before him with awful clarity the form
20:04
Speaker 1: of Doc Slade, laying as he had lain in the passageway,
20:08
Speaker 1: with a gradually spreading pool of blood beneath his head.
20:11
Speaker 1: He covered his face with his hands and wept anew.
20:14
Speaker 1: He kicked savagely at the boxes that were the price
20:17
Speaker 1: of his neutrality in this little war. He felt that
20:20
Speaker 1: he was the lowest, the most despicable coward in history.
20:24
Speaker 1: He wrung his hands and wept again, and at last,
20:27
Speaker 1: in time he dried his eyes and took a deep breath.
20:32
Speaker 1: There was a new look in his eyes. The thought
20:34
Speaker 1: had come to him suddenly that he held the lives
20:37
Speaker 1: of these madmen in his own hand. Of course he did.
20:41
Speaker 1: He had been worrying so much about the safety of
20:43
Speaker 1: his own paltry life that this thought had been entirely overlooked.
20:47
Speaker 1: He was the farmer on the ship. What was he
20:50
Speaker 1: weeping and wailing for? When every one of them depended
20:53
Speaker 1: for their air on his continued attention to the tanks,
20:56
Speaker 1: Why they were a good twenty million miles from the
20:59
Speaker 1: nearest spaceport. If he wanted to die, if he was
21:03
Speaker 1: willing to give his life, he could destroy those tanks
21:06
Speaker 1: of vegetation, and not a man on this rocket would
21:09
Speaker 1: live to land on a planet. Again. He stood up
21:13
Speaker 1: and threw out his chest. He inhaled deeply and smothered
21:17
Speaker 1: an involuntary sob. He went to the wash bowl and
21:20
Speaker 1: washed his face and eyes, and coped his lank black hair.
21:24
Speaker 1: He absently reached for his toothbrush. Then he shuddered, but
21:27
Speaker 1: habit was too great. In spite of the feeling of
21:30
Speaker 1: revulsion that the very thought of toothpowder brought to him,
21:34
Speaker 1: he wound up by carefully brushing his teeth. Then he
21:37
Speaker 1: felt better. He started to turn away from the wash
21:40
Speaker 1: bowl and suddenly stopped. He turned back quickly and seized
21:45
Speaker 1: the can of toothpowder standing there. He picked it up,
21:48
Speaker 1: poured some of the powder into his hand, and let
21:50
Speaker 1: a drop or two of water fall on it. A
21:53
Speaker 1: sinister grin began to spread over his face. If he
21:56
Speaker 1: handled this thing right, the joke they had made in
21:59
Speaker 1: giving him the tooth powder was going to backfire with
22:02
Speaker 1: a vengeance. He sat down and began to think. He
22:07
Speaker 1: sat there for almost an hour. Once he got up
22:10
Speaker 1: and went over and examined the openings to the ventilator pipes.
22:14
Speaker 1: He removed the screen from one of them, a pipe
22:16
Speaker 1: about two feet in diameter, and looked into the blackness
22:19
Speaker 1: of the pipe's interior. What he saw evidently satisfied him,
22:24
Speaker 1: for he smiled again and went back to resume his
22:26
Speaker 1: pensive pose. At last, he rose, and with the grim
22:31
Speaker 1: smile playing on his face, he went to work. He
22:34
Speaker 1: climbed up the ventilator pipe he had examined and started
22:37
Speaker 1: to worm his way into its dark maw. His legs
22:41
Speaker 1: kicked futilely for a moment. Then he was hunching his
22:43
Speaker 1: way along through the tube. He worked his way along
22:46
Speaker 1: for a dozen yards or so. Then he came to
22:49
Speaker 1: a place where the tube divided in two. He unhesitatingly
22:53
Speaker 1: chose the path to the right. He knew these tubes
22:55
Speaker 1: well enough to traverse them with his eyes shut, even
22:58
Speaker 1: though he had never seen them from the inside before.
23:01
Speaker 1: After a few yards of further crawling, he saw light
23:04
Speaker 1: ahead and increased his speed. Before long he was lying
23:07
Speaker 1: in front of a grating and looked out into the
23:09
Speaker 1: officer's mess room. He could see Terrant and Rogers. They
23:12
Speaker 1: were seated disconsolately at the table, speaking little, apparently, for
23:16
Speaker 1: Manuel watched them for five minutes before he tried to
23:19
Speaker 1: attract their attention, and in all that time Terrant only
23:22
Speaker 1: spoke once. When Manuel tapped on the grating, they looked up, startled,
23:26
Speaker 1: and reached further weapons. Rogers was unable to locate the wrapping,
23:30
Speaker 1: and swung about a little wildly until Terrant pointed the
23:32
Speaker 1: ventilator opening. Then he recognized Manuel before Terran did. It's
23:37
Speaker 1: the farmer, he exclaimed, in surprise. What are you doing
23:40
Speaker 1: up there, Sirouk, Manuel beckoned them over to the ventilator.
23:44
Speaker 1: Don't talk too loud, he cautioned, in a hoarse whisper,
23:47
Speaker 1: I can't say much. Somebody is guarding outside the door.
23:50
Speaker 1: Maybe they hear me. They killed Doc Slade and the chemist.
23:53
Speaker 1: I got a scheme. You take this grating off while
23:56
Speaker 1: I go back to the farm and get something. He
23:58
Speaker 1: backed away without waiting for an answer, and made his
24:01
Speaker 1: way slowly back to the farm. He picked up one
24:03
Speaker 1: of his boxes of tooth powder and hoisted it up
24:06
Speaker 1: the ventilator shaft, shoving it back as far as he could.
24:10
Speaker 1: Then he climbed in after it and began his journey
24:12
Speaker 1: back to the mess room, pushing the box ahead of him.
24:15
Speaker 1: It was slow work, but he made it at last,
24:17
Speaker 1: and called softly to Terrant to come get the box.
24:21
Speaker 1: What's this all about, Manuel demanded the captain, but Manuel
24:24
Speaker 1: refused to answer. Can't talk too much, captain, he whispered.
24:28
Speaker 1: Got to hurry. If someone tries to come in farm
24:30
Speaker 1: before I get these boxes over here, this whole plan
24:32
Speaker 1: be shot. Don't you talk now please. Terran nodded his understanding,
24:37
Speaker 1: and Manuol started back for another box of tooth powder.
24:40
Speaker 1: As he hunched his way along, he heard Terran say
24:42
Speaker 1: to Rogers quite plainly. Think he knows what he's doing, ike,
24:46
Speaker 1: he smiled bitterly. It seemed impossible for anyone to expect
24:49
Speaker 1: anything important could be accomplished by little Manuel. Sir ruke, Well,
24:53
Speaker 1: if things went right, he was certainly going to show
24:55
Speaker 1: them this time, in spite of his haste, and in
24:59
Speaker 1: spite of the fact that Rogers helped him. After the
25:01
Speaker 1: third trip, it was some little time before Manul dropped
25:04
Speaker 1: down in the tank room after that last box. He
25:06
Speaker 1: heaved a huge sigh of relief as he put it
25:09
Speaker 1: into the ventilator shaft and turned to do the one
25:12
Speaker 1: thing left to do. This was the one job he hated,
25:15
Speaker 1: but it was the most important job of all. He
25:18
Speaker 1: went to his locker and got out a big bottle
25:20
Speaker 1: and poured liquid from it into every one of the tanks.
25:24
Speaker 1: He turned off a valve under each tank and took
25:26
Speaker 1: a hammer and beat the valve handle into uselessness. Then,
25:30
Speaker 1: after checking to make sure he hadn't overlooked anything, he
25:33
Speaker 1: climbed into the tube and started pushing that last box
25:36
Speaker 1: of toothpowder ahead of him. At last he reached the
25:40
Speaker 1: mess room again and handed down his box. He climbed
25:43
Speaker 1: down himself and had no more than landed when Tarrant
25:46
Speaker 1: was on him with a whisper. Come on, now, Manuel,
25:48
Speaker 1: tell us what this is all about. Just a couple
25:50
Speaker 1: more minutes, Captain Manuel pleaded, you think they can get
25:54
Speaker 1: through that door? Not a chance? Roger spoke up. That's fine.
25:59
Speaker 1: Maybe then you help me fix that ventilator too. They
26:03
Speaker 1: pulled the girl back on the ventilator and covered it
26:05
Speaker 1: by nailing boards from the table over it. By and by,
26:09
Speaker 1: we make that air tight, said Manuel, and gave his
26:11
Speaker 1: next order. Yes, he was giving orders to the captain
26:15
Speaker 1: and a navigator now, and he was quite conscious that
26:17
Speaker 1: he was doing it. You get all the bowls and
26:20
Speaker 1: pans and pots in here, and filled him with water.
26:23
Speaker 1: No telling. When those fellows decided to cut our water lines.
26:26
Speaker 1: It took them half an hour to do that, and
26:28
Speaker 1: it wasn't until it was done that Manuel felt satisfied.
26:32
Speaker 1: Then he began to break open one of the cartons
26:34
Speaker 1: of tooth powder, explaining his plans as he did so
26:37
Speaker 1: in the same whisper he had used all along. Those
26:40
Speaker 1: fellows out there got the whole ship to themselves, he said.
26:44
Speaker 1: They got lots of food, and lots of water, and
26:46
Speaker 1: lots of air. They got fuel too, and some one
26:48
Speaker 1: who can lay in orbit for contact with series. But
26:51
Speaker 1: I don't think they ever get there. There's a whole
26:54
Speaker 1: lot of fellows too, said Manoel dubiously. I think maybe
26:57
Speaker 1: the air they gat won't last em. They're air ejaculated, tarrant, Maneul.
27:03
Speaker 1: You haven't monkeyed with the tanks, have you? I just
27:07
Speaker 1: killed the water weed, that's all. Are you nuts? Little
27:10
Speaker 1: man asked Horand at last, how in thunder a weegin
27:13
Speaker 1: a breathe when the air gets stale. You may smother
27:15
Speaker 1: those pirates, But we're all in the same boat here,
27:18
Speaker 1: you know. Minuel smacked his fist into his hand to
27:21
Speaker 1: emphasize his remark. We may be in the same boat,
27:25
Speaker 1: we three, we're in a different part of this boat.
27:28
Speaker 1: Maybe them rats outside quick breathing, all right, but not us.
27:30
Speaker 1: Look here, he seized them both by the shoulder and
27:33
Speaker 1: hauled them across the room. He broke open one of
27:36
Speaker 1: the corrugated boxes as they watched, and pulled out a
27:39
Speaker 1: gaily colored can. He opened the can and dumped the
27:42
Speaker 1: contents into a pan of water while they looked on.
27:45
Speaker 1: He stirred the paste into the bottom of the pan
27:47
Speaker 1: for a moment, and then let out a cry of triumph. Aha,
27:50
Speaker 1: see there, will you think of that? By gum? A
27:53
Speaker 1: series of bubbles was rising from the paste, rising and breaking,
27:57
Speaker 1: bringing fragments of the tooth powder with them, giving the
28:00
Speaker 1: water a cloudy and dusty quality. As they grew and
28:03
Speaker 1: joined each other faster and faster, Manuel winked. Maybe Manul
28:07
Speaker 1: isn't as big fool as these hoodlums think. He said proudly.
28:11
Speaker 1: I don't know much maybe, But by gum, I know
28:13
Speaker 1: my business. I know about tooth powders, and I know
28:16
Speaker 1: about providing oxygen for rocket ships. You know what, Captain,
28:20
Speaker 1: Most tooth powders got sodium perborated in them. They put
28:23
Speaker 1: it in because that perborate gives off pure oxygen when
28:25
Speaker 1: you put it in water, and pure oxygen is pretty
28:28
Speaker 1: good antiseptic only this time, we're going to use that
28:31
Speaker 1: oxygen to keep us alive instead of killing germs. He
28:35
Speaker 1: leaned over and took a sniff of the life giving gas.
28:38
Speaker 1: In a day or two, he said, happily, the air
28:40
Speaker 1: out and the rest of the rocket is going to
28:42
Speaker 1: be pretty stale. Then they going to try and get
28:44
Speaker 1: in here. We'll hold him out all right. Then after
28:47
Speaker 1: a while they come offering to surrender, begging for a
28:50
Speaker 1: breath of fresh air. Ain't it nice to think that
28:52
Speaker 1: there's only enough for the three of us. If we
28:55
Speaker 1: get soft and let em breathe any of our air,
28:57
Speaker 1: nobody will reach port alive. So we have to be
29:00
Speaker 1: hard and let that mob of cutthroats smother to death.
29:03
Speaker 1: He sat down and leaned back and smiled. Manuel Seruch
29:06
Speaker 1: felt pretty good. He felt satisfied with himself for the
29:10
Speaker 1: first time in a long while. And of Mutiny in
29:15
Speaker 1: the Void by Charles R. Tanner